Prequel Queries

[natedog 7]

i just have a few question regarding the soundtracks to the SW prequels. First of all, am i right in thinking that the general consensus is that Phantom Menace has the best soundtrack of the 3? I've been listening to the music of the TPM but i can't decide which album offers the best presentation of the score, the original release or the ultimate edition. The choppiness of the duel of the fates on the ultimate edition is quite disappointing as is the shortened version of the flag parade, however it does offer cues that are absent from the original release. Also, why haven't AOTC or ROTS had an ultimate edition release or atleast an extended/expanded score?

[Jay 37,338]

1. Each film got a 1 disc OST arranged by John Williams, with him personally selecting the highlights he wanted to be released and arranging them in to the order he felt worked best musically.

2. Various tie-in video games for The Phantom Menace contained music from Williams' Phantom Menace score that wasn't on the CD, so soon fans began cobbling together expanded presentations and trading them around. Some people even started selling other people's edits. Sony got wind of this, and decided they'd officially sell a new 2CD set with more music. This is when it all went wrong. They should have hired Mike Matessino or some other competent producer, and had him go through the original recording sessions and present all the full cues as John Williams recorded them, in order, with bonus tracks of the alternate versions and concert arrangements. Instead, they simply took the music stem of the final film itself - complete with all the little edits, loops, tracking, and other tweaks that happened to the music in the final film - made just a few modifications, and pressed that to CD.

3. As a result of this, the Ultimate Edition is almost universally criticized by fans around the globe. Yes, it has AMAZING sound quality, and yes, it contains loads of really great previously unreleased music. But the fact that it has all the microedits and loops and other stuff is just a travesty. This music was not meant to be heard this way; The careful planning of the music as Williams composed it is lost. Basically, George Lucas got nervous in the last stages of post production of the film and heavily re-edited major sequences, as a result of this the music got heavily edited with it. A lot of these bad music edits are covered by sound effects in the film, but sound so bad naked on CD. What makes it worse is that marketing for this set promised it contains "every note John Williams composed for the film", a statement Sony later apologized for.

4. Due to both poor sales and the backlash over the TPM set, UEs for AOTC and ROTS were never released.

5. Sony's license to exclusively release the music to the original six Star Wars film runs out in either 2017 or 2019, and won't be renewed. At that time, soundtrack rights will revert to Lucasfilm - now owned by Disney - and I think we're all expecting new, proper 2CD sets of all six scores to be released on Disney Records at that time.

6. For listening purposes now, don't listen to the OST or the UE of TPM. There's so many great fan edits out there, that properly return everything to the way John Williams intended, without the microedits and looping and stuff. They are created by fans by using elements of the OST, the UE, and all the music in all the plethora of Star Wars video games. You shouldn't have trouble finding these online, or maybe someone else reading this will be nice enough to PM you about them.

Hope that helps!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I agree with Jason, apart from one thing. It's perfectly mine to listen to the OS. Yes there is a lot of music missing, and yes it's out of sequence. But the music is excellent.

[natedog 7]

cheers Jay. Are they all on youtube mostly, these fan edits? trying to find the best one

[crumbs 14,306]

There's an excellent forum about those awesome Final Fantasy games. It's a Shrine for them, actually.

I reckon you should Google it and check it out.

[Jay 37,338]

cheers Jay. Are they all on youtube mostly, these fan edits? trying to find the best one

There's no true the "best one", its all subjective based on your personal listening preferences. That being said, I think most people would agree that the edits maybe by Vosk aka Trent B are pretty freaking fantastic, and I think you'll enjoy them quite a bit! I emailed him and told him to PM you

[natedog 7]

thank you

[crocodile 7,999]

I never realised Sony apologised for UE.

Karol

[Incanus 5,714]

I hope they grovelled!

[Jay 37,338]

Hmmm, maybe I'm remembering that part wrong. It's been ages, now

[Giftheck 916]

If they didnt they should, and if they did... well, they should apologise again.

In more serious terms, this was a blatant case of false advertisement. I don't know how this would be handled elsewhere but if somebody really wanted to here, they could in theory report Sony to Trading Standards. Not that anybody ever would, but the law is there. I'm sure everybody concerned would consider it a proper apology if they released expanded versions, properly done this time. Sony isn't against this: they allowed Star Trek The Motion Picture an expansion and that is popular enough that 10,000 copies were printed. Star Wars is just as big a brand, so it is not a confidence issue.

Part of me wonders if, given ther licence expires wihin the next two to four years, Sony is at this point simply cashing in.

[Trent B 337]

Part of me wonders if, given ther licence expires wihin the next two to four years, Sony is at this point simply cashing in.

That's possible and just trying to cash in on new fans since Episode VII will be out in a few months.

[Jay 37,338]

Of course they are! They have no other choice!